Insurance Management Fundamentals Training Course

Duration 10 days 16 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Foundation to Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Insurance Officers, Underwriting Assistants and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-BI-086

Before you join: Participants should be comfortable with basic business arithmetic, percentages and reading simple financial statements.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Insurance managers must balance growth, customer service, technical pricing, claims control, capital requirements and conduct obligations. Decisions made at quotation, underwriting, policy administration, reserving and claims settlement affect profitability, solvency and customer trust. Staff moving into insurance roles often understand their own function but need a connected view of how premiums, risk selection, reinsurance, reserves, investments and regulation work together.

This course explains the operating and financial foundations of life, health, property, casualty and commercial insurance. Participants examine the insurance value chain; policy structures; underwriting evidence; rating and pricing; claims handling; reserving; reinsurance; distribution; fraud controls; financial reporting; solvency; and market conduct. They use core measures including loss ratio, expense ratio, combined ratio, retention ratio, claims frequency, claims severity and lapse rate. The course also introduces IFRS 17 concepts, risk-based capital principles and practical controls for insurance operations.

Instructor-led sessions combine short technical briefings with insurer cases, policy and claims document analysis, pricing and reserving calculations, group decisions and facilitated review. Participants progressively build an insurer operating case during the course, linking product design, underwriting rules, claims controls, reinsurance and financial results. They leave with a structured insurance management pack containing practical templates, performance measures and a completed insurer case analysis suitable for adaptation at work.

The course suits professionals working in insurers, brokers, bancassurance operations, regulators, audit teams and corporate insurance functions. It is also relevant to managers who work with insurance providers and need to assess insurance performance, controls and commercial proposals.

What you will be able to do

  • Explain the insurance value chain, risk transfer principles and core insurance contract terms
  • Assess underwriting submissions using exposure analysis, rating factors and authority limits
  • Calculate premium adequacy using loss ratio, expense ratio and combined ratio measures
  • Apply claims triage, reserving and settlement controls to a claims case
  • Evaluate facultative and treaty reinsurance structures using retention and recovery calculations
  • Interpret insurer financial performance through technical account, reserve and solvency measures
  • Identify conduct, fraud and operational risk controls using risk registers and control matrices
  • Produce and present an integrated insurance management plan for a selected portfolio

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence discussing premiums, claims, reserves and reinsurance with specialists
  • Practical ability to assess underwriting and claims decisions against policy terms
  • Improved skill in reading insurer technical results and key performance ratios
  • Stronger preparation for underwriting, claims, operations or insurance management roles
  • A reusable management pack for applying course methods to workplace portfolios

For your organisation

  • More consistent risk selection and underwriting referrals within delegated authority limits
  • Earlier identification of unprofitable products, deteriorating claims and reserve pressure
  • Improved claims controls that reduce leakage, disputes and avoidable settlement delays
  • Better reinsurance decisions aligned with retention appetite and capital protection
  • Clearer reporting of insurance performance, conduct risks and operational control gaps

Course modules

16 modules over 10 days

Participants can explain how insurance transfers risk and how insurance markets operate.

  • Risk pooling, indemnity and fortuity as foundations of insurance contracts
  • Insurance value chain from product design through renewal and claims
  • Insurers, reinsurers, brokers, agents and regulators mapped by role
  • Personal, commercial, life and health insurance product categories
  • Adverse selection and moral hazard within insurance risk pools
  • Premium funding, investment income and claims payments explained

Participants can interpret core policy documents and identify contract obligations.

  • Proposal forms, policy schedules, wordings, endorsements and certificates compared
  • Insurable interest, utmost good faith and disclosure duties examined
  • Declarations, warranties, conditions and exclusions interpreted against claims
  • Indemnity, contribution, subrogation and proximate cause applied correctly
  • Sum insured, limits, deductibles and excesses distinguished clearly
  • Cancellation, renewal and midterm adjustment provisions reviewed

Participants can define a target insurance product and its risk boundaries.

  • Customer needs translated into covered perils, limits and exclusions
  • Target market statements define intended customers and distribution controls
  • Portfolio segmentation by occupation, geography, asset type and exposure
  • Product governance records document approval, review and withdrawal triggers
  • Coverage gaps and overlapping protections identified through policy comparison
  • Benefits, deductibles and waiting periods structured for health products

Participants can assess an insurance submission and recommend an underwriting decision.

  • Underwriting appetite translated into acceptance, referral and decline criteria
  • Proposal information tested for completeness, accuracy and material facts
  • Exposure analysis considers location, occupancy, construction and protection
  • Site surveys and risk engineering reports inform commercial underwriting
  • Hazard identification separates physical, moral and morale hazards
  • Underwriting files record rationale, evidence and approval authority

Participants can calculate and assess a technically sound insurance premium.

  • Rate making combines expected losses, expenses, profit and taxes
  • Frequency and severity analysis estimates expected claims cost
  • Rating factors adjust premiums for exposure and risk characteristics
  • Experience rating uses historical loss performance within defined credibility
  • Burning cost calculations support pricing for larger commercial accounts
  • Premium adequacy tested through target loss ratio assumptions

Participants can map policy administration controls from quotation to renewal.

  • Quotation controls verify rating inputs, eligibility and authority limits
  • New business checks confirm identity, disclosure and payment requirements
  • Endorsement workflows maintain accurate coverage and premium records
  • Renewal management reviews claims experience, terms and customer communications
  • Policy administration data fields support reporting and regulatory returns
  • Service standards measure turnaround time, errors and customer complaints

Participants can manage a claims case from notification through settlement.

  • First notification of loss captures facts, coverage and urgency
  • Claims triage routes cases by complexity, value and fraud indicators
  • Coverage verification tests policy terms, exclusions and deductibles
  • Loss adjusters, assessors and medical providers support evidence gathering
  • Settlement authority matrices control payments, compromises and repudiations
  • Customer communications explain decisions, documentation and complaint routes

Participants can explain reserve types and assess their effect on reported results.

  • Case reserves estimate expected cost for reported unpaid claims
  • Incurred but not reported reserves address delayed claims notification
  • Outstanding claims development monitored through reserve movement analysis
  • Loss triangles reveal development patterns across accident and underwriting years
  • Reserve adequacy affects profit recognition, solvency and management decisions
  • Claims inflation, litigation trends and repair costs inform assumptions

Participants can identify fraud indicators and design proportionate claims controls.

  • Fraud typologies include application fraud, exaggeration and staged losses
  • Red flags trigger referral, investigation and enhanced evidence requirements
  • Data matching identifies duplicate claims, identity anomalies and suspicious providers
  • Segregation of duties controls claim creation, approval and payment
  • Recovery actions pursue subrogation, salvage and overpayment collection
  • Fraud case records preserve evidence, decisions and escalation trails

Participants can compare reinsurance options and calculate basic recoveries.

  • Retention setting balances risk appetite, capital and premium capacity
  • Facultative reinsurance covers individual risks exceeding treaty parameters
  • Quota share treaties distribute premium, losses and commission proportionately
  • Surplus treaties allocate risk using lines and retained sums
  • Excess of loss protection responds above specified attachment points
  • Reinsurance recoverables monitored for credit risk and collection delays

Participants can assess distribution channels and customer conduct controls.

  • Direct, broker, agency and bancassurance channels compared by economics
  • Commission structures assessed for incentives, suitability and conflict risks
  • Needs analysis documents product suitability and customer affordability
  • Product disclosures communicate benefits, exclusions, costs and cancellation rights
  • Complaint handling identifies root causes, remediation and systemic issues
  • Conduct dashboards track declined claims, cancellations and vulnerable customers

Participants can interpret an insurer's core financial results and operating ratios.

  • Technical account separates earned premium, claims and underwriting expenses
  • Gross written premium and net earned premium distinguished accurately
  • Loss ratio, expense ratio and combined ratio calculated
  • Investment income and underwriting result reconciled to overall profit
  • Claims ratio movements investigated by product, period and cause
  • Management dashboards connect operational measures with financial performance

Participants can explain the purpose and major reporting concepts of IFRS 17.

  • IFRS 17 measures insurance contracts using fulfilment cash flows
  • Contractual service margin defers unearned profit over coverage periods
  • Groups of contracts prevent profitable and onerous business offsetting
  • Liability for remaining coverage distinguished from incurred claims liability
  • Premium allocation approach identified for eligible shorter-duration contracts
  • Financial reporting disclosures explain insurance service result and risk

Participants can relate insurance risks to capital needs and investment decisions.

  • Risk-based capital links required capital to insurer risk exposures
  • Solvency margin measures available capital against regulatory requirements
  • Asset-liability matching aligns investment duration with claim payment patterns
  • Liquidity planning covers catastrophe payments, collateral and operating needs
  • Concentration limits reduce exposure to issuers, sectors and asset classes
  • Stress testing evaluates adverse claims, market and catastrophe scenarios

Participants can document key insurance risks, controls and governance accountabilities.

  • ISO 31000 risk assessment identifies events, causes and consequences
  • Risk registers assign owners, controls, indicators and treatment actions
  • Three lines model clarifies management, oversight and assurance responsibilities
  • Own risk and solvency assessment supports forward-looking capital planning
  • Outsourcing controls cover administrators, adjusters and technology providers
  • Regulatory reporting calendars coordinate prudential, conduct and financial submissions

Participants can build, review and present a complete insurance management plan for a selected portfolio.

  • Portfolio profile defines products, target customers, exposures and distribution
  • Underwriting rules specify appetite, rating factors and referral thresholds
  • Claims operating model sets triage, reserves, authority and fraud controls
  • Reinsurance proposal documents retention, treaty structure and recovery assumptions
  • Performance dashboard presents premium, loss ratio, expenses and solvency indicators
  • Risk register prioritises conduct, operational, underwriting and reserving exposures
  • Management presentation defends recommendations using financial and risk evidence

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Insurance portfolio management plan template
  2. Underwriting assessment and referral checklist
  3. Premium adequacy calculation model
  4. Claims triage and reserve review template
  5. Reinsurance structure comparison worksheet
  6. Insurance performance dashboard specification

Who should attend

  • Insurance Officers — need a connected foundation across products, underwriting, claims and finance
  • Underwriting Assistants — need structured methods for assessing risks and applying authority rules
  • Claims Supervisors — need stronger links between settlement decisions, reserves and insurer results
  • Bancassurance Managers — need to manage insurance distribution, referrals and customer conduct
  • Finance and Audit Staff — need to interpret insurance reserves, ratios and reporting requirements
  • Corporate Risk Managers — need to assess insurance programmes and insurer proposals effectively

Skills and tools covered

Insurance risk assessmentUnderwriting decision-makingClaims managementReinsurance analysisInsurance financial analysisConduct risk control

Tools and standards

IFRS 17, ISO 31000, Three Lines Model, Own Risk and Solvency Assessment

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish technical concepts, followed by insurer cases, policy wording reviews, premium and claims calculations, and structured group decisions. Participants analyse realistic retail and commercial portfolios, compare underwriting submissions, assess claims files and interpret management information. Simulations show how a loss event affects reserves, reinsurance recoveries and profitability. Each module adds to an insurer operating case, with facilitated peer review and individual application planning for participants' own roles.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should be comfortable with basic business arithmetic, percentages and reading simple financial statements. Experience in insurance, banking, customer service, finance, risk, sales or operations is useful but not required. The course assumes no prior actuarial training, underwriting qualification or detailed knowledge of insurance regulation. Participants do not need advanced spreadsheet skills; calculations are explained step by step. Those new to insurance should expect to spend time learning standard policy terminology, while experienced practitioners can apply the methods to their own portfolios and operational issues.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

No prior insurance qualification is required. Participants should be comfortable with basic percentages and business calculations; the course explains insurance terminology and calculations from first principles.

Participants should bring a laptop for calculations, case materials and application planning. They may also bring non-confidential examples of policy documents, claims reports or portfolio measures from their workplace.

It is suited to professionals new to insurance and staff moving into underwriting, claims, operations, bancassurance, finance, audit or risk roles. Experienced practitioners can use it to connect their specialist work to insurer financial and control requirements.

This course focuses on managing insurance products and portfolios across underwriting, claims, reinsurance, finance and governance. It does not train participants in advanced actuarial modelling, legal practice or jurisdiction-specific licensing examinations.

Participants use practical templates for underwriting reviews, claims controls, performance reporting and risk registers. The final management plan can be adapted to an existing product, branch, broker portfolio or insurance programme.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first part builds insurance operating foundations and applied case work, while the later part develops financial, risk, regulatory and portfolio management capability before the capstone.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.